Patent document 1 discloses an arrangement of a liquid crystal display device of a vertical alignment type (see FIG. 12). As shown in FIG. 12, a liquid crystal display device 303 has (i) a TFT substrate 251 on which a plurality of thin film transistors (TFTs) are formed in pixels, respectively and (ii) an counter substrate 252, which is provided so as to face the TFT substrate 251 via a liquid crystal layer 204. In addition to the TFTs and wiring 211, the TFT substrate 251 has (a) a transparent electrode 214 that is formed on a glass substrate 202 via a protective insulation film 217, and (b) a reflection electrode 215 that is formed on the glass substrate 202 via the protective insulation film 217 and an interlayer insulation film 222. The interlayer insulation film 222 is provided for adjusting the thickness of the liquid crystal layer in a reflection region H. The reflection electrode 215, transparent electrode 214, and interlayer insulation film 222 are covered with a vertical alignment film 218 (made of a material such as polyimide). In each of the pixels, a region where the interlayer insulation film 222 is not formed becomes a transmission region T, whereas a region where the interlayer insulation film 222 and the reflection electrode 215 are formed becomes the reflection region H. The reflection electrode 215 is made of a material, having a high reflectance, such as aluminum. The transparent electrode 214 is made of a material, having a high transmittance, such as ITO (indium tin oxide). Both the transparent electrode 214 and the reflection electrode 215 are connected to a drain electrode of each of the TFTs. As such, the driving of a TFT causes a target voltage to be applied to a transparent electrode 214 and a reflection electrode 215.
On the other hand, the counter substrate 252 has a color filter 221 and a transparent electrode (made of a material such as ITO), which is a counter electrode 219, on a glass substrate 201. The counter substrate 252 further has rivets 216 for controlling a direction of alignment regulation of liquid crystal molecules 203. The rivets 216 are provided in both the transmission region T and the reflection region H. The rivets 216 and the counter electrode 219 are covered with a vertical alignment film 218.
A liquid crystal layer 204 is made up of a liquid crystal composition sealed in a space between the TFT substrate 251 and the counter substrate 252. To outer surfaces of the glass substrates 201 and 202, polarization plates and phase difference compensation films, (not shown), are attached, respectively.
The liquid crystal display device 303 carries out a display, by (i) controlling, via the TFTs of the pixels, alignment directions of the liquid crystal molecules 203 in the reflection region H and the transmission region T, and (ii) changing, based on an electro-optic effect in the liquid crystal layer, an amount of light passing through the polarization plates.
However, the above liquid crystal display device causes a problem, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, that it is difficult to quicken a response time in the transmission region T. In view of this, the Patent Document 1 focuses attention on the fact that a response time of liquid crystal molecules is slow in specific parts (both end parts of the transparent region T, at which end parts the liquid crystal molecules unstably align) of the transparent region T, and blocks the light in the specific parts. That is, Patent Document 1 improves display quality, by blocking the light in the end parts of the transmission region T, so that the end parts do not contribute to a transmission display.
(Patent document 1)
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication, Tokukai, No. 2005-331926 (published on Dec. 2, 2005)